July 06, 2009

13 facts about 'Epitaph One,' the 'lost' episode of 'Dollhouse'

"Dollhouse" fans who are going to San Diego Comic-Con will get to see "Epitaph One," the "lost" episode of the show -- the episode that was made for DVD release and international distribution but never aired by Fox.

That super-sized "Dollhouse" session on July 24 at Comic-Con will also feature an hourlong Q&A with creator Joss Whedon and star Eliza Dushku. And for those who aren't going to Comic-Con, "Epitaph One" and the rest of Season 1 comes out on DVD on July 28.

So what do Comic-Con attendees -- or DVD buyers -- have to look forward to? Well, "Epitaph One" did what the best episodes of "Dollhouse" do: It made me think, it had some great performances and it contained some "holy [expletive]" moments. To say more would invite a kneecapping from Fox, so I'll keep my yap shut when it comes to the "OMG" moments of "Epitaph One."

But here are a few tidbits about "Epitaph One" based on two viewings of the episode -- one viewing to just absorb its many layers, and one to hear the episode's audio commentary, which is supplied on the DVD set by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. The duo, who also collaborated with Joss Whedon and "Epitaph One" guest star Felicia Day on "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," wrote the "Dollhouse" episode from a story by Joss Whedon.

Below, there are some non-spoilery Fun Facts about "Epitaph One," followed by a few Teaser-y Fun Facts about the episode. I'll post a more in-depth review of the episode after it screens at Comic-Con.

I've put all of the Fun Facts -- even the non-spoilery ones -- behind a click wall so that if you really don't want to know *anything* about the episode, you have that option.

Not-spoilery part next. Yet still ye are warned. Turn away if you'd rather remain entirely in the dark about "Epitaph One."

Non-Spoilery Fun Facts about "Epitaph One" (by the way, the photos on this post do not come from that episode):

1. The director of photography for the episode, Rodney Charters, as well as the entire film crew, came from "24."

2. The reason "Dollhouse's" regular film crew was not used was that they were all off shooting "Omega," the show's on-air Season 1 finale.

3. Parts of "Epitaph One" were filmed at the same industrial facility that was used for parts of "Omega." Joss Whedon said in one interview that the episode was shot in six days, which is hard to believe since it looks great.

4. Adair Tishler, formerly of "Heroes," does great work in the episode (as does Felicia Day).

5. Jed and Maurissa wrote a song for the episode, which Maurissa sings. On Twitter recently, she asked if they should release the song separately before or after "Epitaph One" comes out on DVD. I think it should come out the day of the Comic-Con screening, or the day after. It's quite good.

6. The episode was shot for the studio, not for the network, so, from what Jed and Maurissa said on the DVD commentary, it sounds like there was more freedom to do what the "Dollhouse" team wanted to do.

Bonus Fun Fact: Not necessarily a Fun Fact about "Epitaph One," but here's a Fun Fact about the show, from one of the DVD featurettes: The chair that is used to imprint Actives did not work all that well and ate part of Joss' soul. Well, that last part is just a surmise but the look on his face during the discussion of the chair issues pretty much said, "That accursed chair ate part of my soul."

Teaser-y Fun Facts about "Epitaph One" (this part contains a few plot factoids. You've been warned):

7. You'll see a relationship implied between two characters. I never would have guessed that those two characters would form a (potential, possible, not entirely confirmed) relationship, yet in retrospect it makes a lot of sense.

8. You'll see Topher as you've never seen him before.

9. Dushku and co-star Tahmoh Penikett aren't in the episode a whole lot. The reason Day and other guest stars took center stage is because everyone else was off filming "Omega." By the way, speaking of guest cast, IMDb.com lists Alan Tudyk as appearing in "Epitaph One," but that is incorrect -- he's not in this episode. (Digression: Where was the world hiding Enver Gjokaj before he turned up to rock "Dollhouse"? He is, not surprisingly, terrific in this episode.)

10. You do see the entire regular cast, just to be clear. And how those characters are used in "Epitaph One" is probably the most interesting thing about the episode.

11. The opening shots features Day and her fellow guest stars in a post-apocalyptic setting. Jed jokes that viewers may end up thinking "this is the worst episode of 'Dr. Horrible' yet!"

12. Throughout the course of the series, Olivia Williams, who plays Dollhouse boss Adelle DeWitt, had begged to carry a gun. She got her wish in "Epitaph One."

13. The next part contains information about the time frame of "Epitaph One" -- check out now if you don't want to know that.

"Epitaph One," which is set in 2019, left me with a lot of questions, not necessarily just about Caroline/Echo -- but about the future of the TV series and how that will work.

The episode is worth the wait, but it actually left me with one big question. I'll write more about that on the day of the Comic-Con panel, when I'll post more in-depth thoughts on "Epitaph One."

So we can all guess that Dollhouse, the episodes we saw at least, are set in 2008-2009, right? And you say that Epitaph One is set in 2019, right? And you also say that Echo makes an apparence, as small as it might be. But didn't Echo's contract lasted only 5 years? She should be off, back in her life, max in 2014, undoubtly before that actually! Unless it's Caroline that appears in E-One? Or the contract is renewed?

Again, you probably can't answer the question 'cause of being too spoilery, but I'm gonna ask anyway: Do they explain that in E-One?

Mo here: Hmmmm.... I'm gonna let that one go, probably because you kind of need to see the episode to judge for yourself. Also, not giving anything away, I think, by saying that not everything we see in Epitaph One gives a definitive answer to burning questions about Echo/Caroline. I'd say it's more like we get clues about what may have happened...

'Where was the world hiding Enver Gjokaj before he turned up to rock "Dollhouse"? '

Totally agree. And I have to wonder why Joss disfigured him in the last episode of Season 1. Because you KNOW he had a reason. If I was a big-time blog/opinion leader, I would ask Joss that very question.

Oh gosh how I love your info! I'm adoring dollhouse and can't wait till it gets to DVD where I live (south of really nowhere not like US nowhere...). I like what you do A LOT and the show is just the awesomest (yes I am aware of how uncool that word is, but its way beyond awesome). Could wait to see it till I'm like 90...but hopefully a lot sooner.

Can you give any more hints as to who the "implied" relationship is? I can't help but be hopeful, with Reed Diamond being present, that DeWitt/Dominic finally caved to each other. Or, if it's not them, do they at least share some screen time?

Just saw the Epitaph one episode, and it's one of the best one's I've seen of this series. I feel that if that were to end the series as a whole, it's not too bad of an ending. It really took some of my questions about the show and put some massive reality to it. It's a shame that Fox didn't show this episode, and as good as Omega was, Epitaph One makes a far better series finale. It felt as a nice conclusion to a story that seemed a bit short. However if they do continue with the series, it would not be in Fox's best interest to release that episode. All in all, I really loved this episode and can't wait till other's see it so it can be discussed in detail.

I agree, like many are saying, this would make a fantastic Series Finale, although it is incredibly reminiscent of a terminator franchise ending, somewhat dissapointing considering the how high a bar Joss Whedon has set for himself when it comes to originality.

However, the series is luckily picked up for a second season, and Fox must not air this episode, it is a dangerous story turn that might be impossible to dig out without the writers losing integrity and story plausibility.

It was the worst thing they ever made. I hated the whole thing. Such a great series and a stupid overly dark ending. I couldn't agree that it was a rip off of the Terminator franchise. Thank God they never aired this, if they did I would never watch season 2.

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